BlackRock Files With SEC to Include Staking in Ethereum ETF

BlackRock aims to include staking in its spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund, according to a rules change request submitted on Thursday by Nasdaq, where the fund is listed, to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Adding staking functionality to the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) would allow the product, which debuted last July, to earn yield by using the held ETH to validate transactions on the Ethereum blockchain, according to the 19b-4 proposal.

Multiple issuers, including Fidelity, Grayscale, and 21Shares, are also seeking to include staking in their funds. The SEC is due to issue decisions in October on similar requests for staking submitted by Cboe and the NYSE. It has an April deadline to weigh in on ETHA, although Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart wrote in an X post Thursday that he doubted “it will take that long for a potential approval.”

“We think staking will likely be approved by at least 4Q25,” Seyffart also wrote.

The feature has been controversial, with proponents saying it would increase returns while critics raise concerns about security vulnerabilities and market manipulation.

Prospectuses for ETHA and the other eight Ethereum funds currently trading indicated that the products would not include staking, but the 19b-4 filing proposes deletes that passage and proposes new language allowing for it.

“In consideration for any staking activity in which the Trust may engage, the Trust would receive all or a portion of the staking rewards generated by the staking provider, which may be treated as income to the Trust,” the new language states.

BlackRock’s Ethereum fund has been the most successful in this category, generating more than $7 billion in net inflows, more than double the total of any other, according to UK asset manager Farside Investors. It was recently trading at just below $26, up nearly 1% as of the close of trading Thursday.

Ethereum ETFs have been surging in recent weeks, adding more than $2.2 billion in net investments over a nine-day streak. On Wednesday, they hit a record daily high with $726.6 million in inflows, including nearly $500 million from ETHA alone.